The Cherokee Nation of Oklahoma wants to clarify once and for all who is entitled to citizenship.

The tribe acknowledges it previously extended citizenship to anyone with an ancestor the Dawes Roll. But now it says members must have an Indian ancestor.

That leaves out the Freedmen, who are descendants of former slaves held within the tribe. The Freedmen appear on the Dawes Roll but aren't listed as Indian even if they had Indian blood.

A lawsuit in federal court seeks to uphold the tribe's new standard. But Freedmen descendants say they are entitled to the same rights as everyone else whose ancestor was on the Dawes Roll.

"It's my right to be part of the Cherokee Nation," Lisa Duke, whom the tribe named as a defendant, told The Northwest Arkansas Democrat Gazette.

Get the Story:
Cherokee lawsuit's focus on citizenship (The Northwest Arkansas Democrat Gazette 2/16)

Related Stories:
Cherokee Nation seeks to end Freedmen dispute (2/4)